Selects: How Mail Order Marriages Work

Historical accounts reveal that mail-order marriages were not just happenstances of love but were government schemes aimed at stabilizing male-dominated frontier communities.

Mail-Order Marriages Were Government Schemes to Stabilize Male-Dominated Frontier Communities

Government involvement in facilitating mail-order marriages was a strategic approach to building early American colonies.

Colonies and Early U.S. Incentivized Mail-Order Brides to Address Gender Imbalances and Promote Family Stability

In the early American colonies like Jamestown, the acute shortage of women led to a government-sanctioned effort to entice women to migrate. Advertisements lured volunteers who sought greater rights and better opportunities than they had back home. Legislators crafted laws to make the proposition more attractive, such as offering favorable inheritance conditions. For instance, widowed women in certain colonies could retain much more wealth and run their own businesses compared to England, where they would receive only a small portion of their husbands' estates.

The “tobacco wives” of Virginia exemplify this strategy. These women had to ensure their prospective planters were financially viable by supplying a hefty quantity of tobacco as proof to the Virginia Company.

As America pushed westward, similar strategies emerged. California’s incentives, including more accessible divorce laws and property rights for women, led to a jump in the female population from 3% in 1850 to 19% in 1860. In Washington State, marriage brokers like Asa Mercer recruited "Mercer girls" from the East, advertising the prospering economy of the West. These government-supported programs aimed to stabilize the sometimes-lawless frontier towns.

Matrimonial Ads: 18th & 19th Century Independent, Personal-Choice Marriages

Parallel to formalized schemes, an independent pathway to matrimony unfolded through personal advertisements.

Women Used Ads to Find Husbands, Bypassing Arranged Marriages

Women exerted increased agenc ...

Mail-Order Marriages Criticized In Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries, Especially Involving Asian Women

Anti-Immigrant Laws Restricted Asian Immigration, With Mail-Order Marriages As a Loophole

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was significant criticism and resistance to women from Asia entering the U.S. through what came to be known as mail-order marriages. Americans feared the country being overrun by immigrants, leading Congress to implement controlling laws. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 specifically targeted Chinese immigration. A later loophole was found through the 1907 gentleman's agreement, which permitted Japanese women and their children to immigrate if they were married to Japanese men already in the U.S. However, Japanese immigration eventually ceased with the enactment of the Immigration Act of 1924.

Mail-Order Brides Stereotyped As Sex Workers or Citizenship Seekers, Not Genuine Partners

Asian women who sought marriage with American men were stereotyped and marginalized. There was widespread belief that Asian mail-order brides were merely seeking American citizenship or trying to escape their countries. They were often at risk of being deported unless married to an American and holding a green card. Another stereotype was that these women were essentially sex workers who posed as mail-order brides to enter the U.S.

Criticism of Mail-Order Marriages Persists Over Power Imbalances and Potential Exploitation

Mail-Order Brides Vulnerable to Abuse and Trafficking due to Isolation, Economic Dependence

Chuck Bryant and Sonia Osorio from the National Organization for Women refer to darker aspects of mail-order marriages, including vulnerability to human trafficking and abuse. Josh Clark acknowledges this as an issue but also points out the lack of hard data, with most understanding coming from anecdotal evidence. Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant discuss the judgments on men who seek mail-order brides, suggesting they may be after submissive women more pliable than their American counterparts.

Moral Panic Over Mail-Order Marriages Overshadows Relationship Nuances

Josh Clark touches upon moral panic, indicating that the fear of mail-order brides being murdered takes the spotlight away from other serious matters such as domestic violence. Marsha Zug's book argues that while mail-order marriages can be problematic, the more pressing issue is the plight of undocumented immigrant brides who lack legal rights and fear deportation.

The ridicule and stigma surrou ...

Chuck Bryant and Josh Clark delve into the complexities and power imbalances inherent in mail-order marriages, highlighting the vulnerabilities of mail-order brides and the potential for exploitation and abuse within the industry.

Mail-Order Brides' Vulnerabilities Cause Power Imbalances

Mail-Order Brides Lack Language Skills, Social Support, and Autonomy, Making Them Dependent on Husbands

Josh Clark describes mail-order brides as often lacking language proficiency in their new country, having no support system of family and friends, and being entirely dependent on their husbands. This dependency is exacerbated by the conditional resident status mail-order brides have for two years, during which they must marry the husband within three months of arriving in the U.S. Throughout this conditional period, the brides may face linguistic and cultural isolation, lack a social network, and are entirely economically dependent on the husband. This leaves them vulnerable to abuse, with a fear that the husband could send the bride home during this period.

Concerns About Mail-Order Brides Facing Abuse or Being Treated As "Domestic Servants"

Chuck Bryant and Clark raise concerns about the significant risk of abuse faced by isolated and dependent mail-order brides. They suggest that there can be situations where brides are mistreated or essentially treated as captive in their own homes. The skewed power dynamics favor the husband, particularly during the two-year conditional period, leading to potential mistreatment.

Mail-Order Marriage Industry Criticized For Exploiting Power Imbalances and Facilitating Exploitation

Agencies Accused Of Marketing Women As "Submissive" to Attract Male Clients

The mail-order marriage industry is often criticized for its portrayal of women as "submissive" and promoting antiquated and offensive stereotypes to attract male clients. One agency notably advertised women as "unspoiled by feminism," implying that mail-order brides could also serve as live-in domestic servants, thus promising savings on domestic labor for prospective husbands.

Concerns: Agencies as Fronts for Human Trafficking via Mail-Order Marriages

There are concerns that some m ...

The mail-order marriage industry, historically a means for women to gain more agency, has been significantly transformed by the internet, leading to increased communication and information-sharing. However, these advancements have also highlighted the need for more rigorous regulation to prevent exploitation.

Internet Revolutionizes Mail-Order Marriage Industry, Boosting Communication and Information-Sharing

Marsha Zug's book suggests that historically, the mail-order marriage industry provided women with opportunities to gain more rights and agency at times when these might have been limited. The evolution from a catalog-based system to digital platforms has been fueled by the internet, with online platforms allowing women to take an active role in selecting their partners. Josh Clark indicated that the industry is now entirely online, implying significant changes from its traditional operations.

Online Platforms Empower Women to Actively Choose Husbands, Not Just Be Marketed In Catalogs

Online platforms have empowered women in the mail-order marriage industry, enabling them to be more discerning in their choices. With the rise of video chat, texting, Facebook, and Skype, women are no longer hoping for the best from being featured in a catalog but instead can actively participate in selecting their future husbands.

Power Imbalance Leads To Exploitation and More Industry Regulation

Despite the advancements, there's acknowledgment of problematic aspects within mail-order marriages, particularly regarding power imbalances that can lead to exploitation. Chuck Bryant's conversation on the topic hints at the potential need for increased oversight. As a result, further regulation of the industry has been suggested due to the vulnerabilities caused by power disparities.

Marriage Broker Act Requires Mail-Order Brides to Receive Prospective Husband Information

The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 was introduced to address these power imbalances directly by requiring agencies to disclose extensive background information about men to women considering marriage. This legislation necessitates that women receive details on prospective husbands, including their criminal, marital, and sex offender registry status, as well as their financi ...